Efficacy and safety of pembrolizumab monotherapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients treated at Hanoi Medical University Hospital

Abstract

This study evaluated the efficacy of pembrolizumab monotherapy response rate and progression-free survival and its tolerabilty in advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients. Thirty patients with lung cancer in metastatic or recurrent settings were treated with pembrolizumab monotherapy at Hanoi Medical University Hospital from October 2017 to October 2021. The mean age was 65.37 ± 5.46 (40-81). Most patients were male (86.7%). Most had non-squamous cell carcinoma (70%) and a Tumor Proportion Score (TPS) ≥ 50% (63.3%). The complete response rate was 3.3%, the partial response rate was 36.7%, and the stable disease rate was 43.3%. The overall control rate was 83.3%. Patients with TPS ≥ 50% had significantly higher response rate (47.4% vs 27.3%, p > 0.05). Median PFS was 9.6 ± 0.84 months; the figure for patients with TPS ≥ 50% was higher than for patients with TPS 1-49% (10.9 months vs. 7.2 months), p < 0.05. Only 6.2% had hyperthyroidism, and 3.1% had hypothyroidism, all in grade I. Therefore, pembrolizumab treatment in advanced non-small cell lung cancer is effective with a high disease control rate and is well-tolerated.